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EPA FINALIZES CASMALIA LANDFILL AS FEDERAL SUPERFUND SITE

Release Date: 9/13/2001
Contact Information: Leo Kay, Press Office, 415/744-2201

     SAN FRANCISCO   The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency finalized the Casmalia Resources Disposal Site in Santa Barbara County today as a federal Superfund site, providing a formal framework to perform a long-term cleanup of the 252-acre facility.

     "Giving this site Superfund status will ensure that we have the funding, resources and regulatory authority necessary to perform a fully protective, long-term cleanup," said Keith Takata, director of the U.S. EPA's Superfund program in San Francisco.  "We will continue to work with the site's steering committee to ensure that previous site operators and those who sent waste their pay for further investigation and future cleanup."

     The Casmalia Resources Site, located 10 miles from Santa Maria, Calif. was an active hazardous waste treatment, storage, and disposal facility from 1973 to 1989.  The site accepted approximately 5.5 billion pounds of waste from about 10,000 contributors, placing it in 92 waste management facilities that included landfills, ponds, shallow wells, and treatment units.   Since the site is no longer operating and the enforcement process has been complex,  the EPA sought Superfund listing to conduct its enforcement and cleanup.

     In 1991, the site owner/operator abandoned active efforts to clean up and close the facility, claiming financial difficulties.  In 1992, the EPA took action to control the site and address immediate health threats.  In a consent decree with the EPA, the Casmalia Steering Committee   a group of oil, gas, and aerospace companies known to have sent large quantities of waste to the site   took over cleanup operations.

     The site continues to undergo investigation and cleanup work with oversight by the EPA and the state.

     Casmalia is now the 97th Superfund site in California, and the first in Santa Barbara County.  There are roughly 1,300 Superfund sites nationwide.  

     Today's listing followed a 60-day public comment period for the proposed listing that closed Aug. 13.  The EPA received three comments favoring the listing, and one opposing it.